About

The NEXUS: Open Source Project

Going forward, Nexus will be open-source and community driven. This will allow us to increase our customer reach in an organic way as well as helping to create numerous game ambassadors all across the globe. Keeping everyone connected by utilizing Kickstarter, our Facebook pages as well as our website featuring a new D-Verse Discourse Forum.

This forum will be the hub for the NEXUS: Open Source Project (see Update #15).

FREE Living Copy of the NEXUS Rules in PDF form for all of us to work on together

FREE Downloadable STL and PDF files to print your own game components

A place to share suggestions, ideas, fan fiction, artwork and to interact with the creators as well as other NEXUS fans.

This will allow you full access and influence into the final version of the game that will eventually be released to the public via our next Kickstarter.

ORIGINAL KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN BELOW

That isn’t entirely true. It isn’t your lives that are at risk. In Nexus you and your friend will be playing the role of a Lanista. Think Don King, but instead of Mike Tyson, the two of you will be commanding genetically engineered gladiators called Helots. Just like Don, you don’t care if they live or die, win or lose, as long as it entertains the fans! Your fame and fortunes are all that truly matter.

The Zealot

High atop your Aeries, a kind of hovercraft that sits above the action, you both shout out commands to your hapless servants. Your Helots have the attention spans of goldfish and these space barge arenas are rife with distractions. The thunderous crowd noise coupled with the smell of rotting flesh from previous bouts do nothing to help a Helot’s concentration. Needless to say not every command gets through.

Your Helot will use these points to perform numerous actions such as movement, attacks, grappling and in some cases acrobatic feats such as standing up. You will receive bonuses for positioning relative to your opponent and could suffer disadvantages based upon your positioning relative to the environment. Be mindful of your surroundings.

The Famished

Each Lanista marks off the values from one to six on their individual Turning Point Counters as they are achieved during their Action Point Rolls that begin each action round.

Once all values from one to six have been rolled a Turning Point is achieved and a respective card is drawn. These cards can be beneficial or detrimental to your Helot. Some are neither and only good for a laugh.

Turning Point Cards

A barge arena equipped with floor saws is certain to elicit excitement. When a Lanista tosses an Action Point Roll and finds that he has previously rolled that value the spectators cheer and both Lanistas brace for something extraordinary. It is time for a Floor Saw to scream across the barge arena floor indiscriminately ripping flesh and limb from any Helot unfortunate enough to find itself in its path.

To determine a Floor Saw’s starting position the Lanistas use NEXUS RPO (Randomly Placed Object) rules. Each Lanista rolls a d8 and uses its value along with the numbered board grid to determine the Floor Saw’s starting location. After the Lanista triggering the Floor Saw roles a directional die the floor saw is off to do the rippin’ and the tearin’.

Weapon Crates – Bust them open to equip a Helot with a random weapon card.

While we include the rules for the one-off game for you to download and review we do not include the PDF of the NEXUS RULEBOOK for the same reason any RPG wouldn’t. While it isn’t entirely an RPG in the traditional sense there is a great deal that has gone into this 200+ page rulebook. The book is packed with Illustrations, lore and loads of additional rules that will maximize your enjoyment of game. Below is an overview of some of the enhanced game mechanics you will find within its pages.

The Barge Beast - Not all Hazards are inanimate...

You will continue to play the role of the Lanista and track your progress with the included character sheets. You will keep track of your character's…

Bitcoin (finances)

Influence (EXP)

Prominence (level)

Troupe of Helots

Win/Loss Records

Bloodthirster

As a starting Lanista you will begin with a troupe of 3 Helots. Each of your Helots will have their own character sheets. You will track your Helots’…

Rep (EXP)

Fame (Level)

Injuries and Insanites

Equipment Win/Loss Records

Critiqueur

Each bout will have its own rewards for each of the participating Lanistas as well as their Helots.

Lanistas will earn Bitcoin and Influence based on bout purses that are established before the bout begins. These purses are calculated based on the Fame of the competing Helots.

Helots will earn Cred during the bout itself. Cred is achieved by performing various actions during the barge bout. This takes the focus from simply defeating an opponent and shifts it to putting on a show. At the end of the bout any Cred achieved from each participating helot is translated into Rep.

The Supremacist

As a Helot rises in Fame it not only rewards its Lanista with additional Influence and Bitcoin during the bout purse phase, but it also opens access to better weapons and armor to be used in future events.

Hoarder

As Lanistas rise in Prominence they begin to unlock additional Influence Cards, their maximum troupe of Helots increase, Influence and Bitcoin rewards compound and increase as their Helots add your Prominence to their Fame calculations when checking requirements for their weapons and armor.

NEXUS is the result of 2 guys, who grew up together in Detroit, working on their passion while also holding down full time jobs, raising 6 kids between them, attending soccer games, baseball, and a myriad of other activities. Imagine what other things we could create if this was our full-time job. When you back Nexus, yes you are buying a game, but you are also funding a company who will bring you innovative, smart, and nostalgic projects like this for years to come.

Our purpose is greater than ourselves. We want to elevate the real rock stars in our eyes – those are the artists, the writers, the guys that stay up all night developing unique game mechanics, and many more of the talented people who have a passion for the tabletop gaming industry but just haven’t had the chance to make a living from it yet.

We believe this expressly fits the spirit of Kickstarter and is why we have chosen it for our funding platform. There have been many people that have helped us along the way to where we are. We are very thankful for each and every one of them and it is our hope that with the success of the NEXUS Kickstarter will also come the success of many talented individuals who will get to do the things they love as a means to earn a living.

LFL Team Photo by Michael Rechlin

The Early Days of NEXUS by Pedro Sena

INC Officer Lunch Break by Danny Cruz

Business Transaction by Dongjun Lu

Pimped Out Aerie by Danny Cruz

Cleanup on Isle NEXUS by Michael Rechlin

all of our CUTE & FLUFFY Super-Fans!

Richard Ankney

David Benson

Eddie Bianco

Clint and Jodi Black

Sax Carr

Will Friedle

Lizzy & Derek Funkhouser

Robert Geistlinger

Gaurav Gulati

Matt Kaminski

David Kartzinel

Becca Scott Kerns

Ryan Lang

Logician TIm

Teri Litorco

Jake Michels

Adam Minton

Jeff Neckermann

Derek Osborne

Doug Rosenthal

Jeremy Salinas

Ryan Schoon

Mark Streed

David Waybright

Daniel Zayas

of course all of our friends and family

and last but certainly not least...She who shall not be named.

It is impossible to know the exact shipping charges that will be assessed to your order. Below is the most accurate estimates for the pimped out pledge level. These estimates are based on information attained by our manufacturers and fulfillment companies and use current world shipping rates.

Depending on the unit volume of our Kickstarter we hope to deliver with shipping costs below these estimates, but nothing is guaranteed.

Risks and challenges

First off thank you for considering sponsoring and pledging to our campaign. This is our first Kickstarter and we have done a lot of research. Having backgrounds in project management, we know that research can only get you so far, it is real experience that delivers the best outcomes. Knowing this, we have brought on board Kickstarter veterans that have been mentoring us and providing sound advice through the process and will continue to do so after the campaign. Very few campaigns are immune to issues such as shipping delays and customs and we are doing the best we can to get the very best in the industry to help fulfill those needs and ensure delivery as smooth as possible.

NEXUS is close to completion. The rest of the touch-ups will take place during and after the Kickstarter taking into consideration backer suggestions and feedback. These shouldn’t cause any problems and after everything is fully complete and polished, production will begin as we continue to keep a keen eye on quality, since that is very important to us. You can expect regular and informative updates after we have funded, monthly at a minimum. Thanks again for your time and consideration. We are really excited to bring Nexus to you and hope for you to enjoy it for years to come.